Page 80 of The Break-Up Pact

“You did not,” I cackle as the Pop Rocks start to go off in earnest, loud enough that I’m sure Levi can hear it, too.

He finally breaks out in a smile he’s clearly been trying to hold back. “You set yourself up for this.”

“And you set yourself up for this,” I say, reaching up to wrap my fingers through the soft curls on the back of his head, pulling him in for a kiss. Soon enough, there are Pop Rocks going off in both of our mouths, and we’re laughing through the kiss, the vibrations of it pulsing through each other’s bodies.

We’re breathless by the time our lips part, our foreheads still pressed together, leaning against each other like we’ll fall over laughing if we don’t. Our eyes meet, and I feel our own kind of crackle in them—the instant recognition, the unmatched understanding. The way we have always been able to see deep into the cores of each other, to feel the depths of the other’s hurts and triumphs and everything in between. A thread between us that kept its pull even after all these years apart, too steady to break, too strong to unravel.

“I love you,” I say, the words easier than any I’ve ever spoken out loud. They’ve been a part of me for so long that it feels like they were beating in my heart long before they left my lips.

Levi’s smile softens. His eyes, which had been brimming with laughter, now brim with something else. He holds my gaze, and I feel the love between us like a lifeline. Like the thread is tightening, holding us closer than we’ve ever been.

My own eyes are starting to tear up at the sight of his. Levi kisses me again, slow and deep. When we break apart, he says quietly into my ear, “I love you, too.”

It’s only the second time I’ve heard him say it, but I already know that it won’t matter how many times I hear it. I’ll still feel the warm tingle of it spread through me every time.

“And to think,” Levi quips, “all it took was a scone.”

I laugh, wet and muffled. Levi thumbs a stray tear away, and I look up at him and say, “Yeah. We could have saved a whole lot of time with all our fake dates, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. What a drag those were,” says Levi, pulling me in closer. “What a task it was finally getting to hold your hand in that museum,” he says, wrapping his fingers through mine. “What a bummer seeing you move in that ridiculously sexy dress,” he adds, using his other hand to skim my hip and reach back to lightly squeeze my ass. He draws in even closer and says into my ear, “What a shame to know the exact face you make when you…” He lets the words hover, warm and teasing. “Take a really good bite of a scone.”

The blush might start in my cheeks, but by the time he’s finished speaking, it’s spread all over my body, a relentless, crackling flame. “Thank goodness you survived,” I say wryly, my own hands wandering to his back, pulling him flush against me.

Levi’s breath hitches just slightly, and I can feel the exact reason why pressed against my hip. “Yeah,” he says, swallowing thickly. “Thank goodness.”

I’m already straying far beyond this spot where we’re standing, like the heat of my desire was just waiting for me to fan it, to burn up all the other thoughts. I only separate myself from Levi and start walking because there is a long list of things I’d like to do with those flames, and none of them can happen here.

“I guess we should finally, officially end our pact,” I manage to say, despite the breathlessness.

Levi’s hand has already eased back into mine. “We can make it a promise, instead.”

I nod slowly, letting the satisfaction of this moment sink in. Pressing it to my heart so I’ll always remember the feeling, even if I won’t be able to recall the words.

“I like the sound of that.”

“Good.” Levi’s eyes glint again as he adds, “We’ll get Sana to draw up the terms.”

It only takes a few more steps for us to reach the edge of the woods and slowly make our way out of the trail. Only it doesn’t feel like it did when we were kids, like trading one world for another. The magic follows us back out this time. It’s still pressed between our fingers, steady in every step. It’s old and it’s new, unchanged and changing, but always, always ours.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Dylan pokes at the little cake on its stand. “I think it’s ready.”

I swat his hand. “It’s going to be full of holes if you keep that up.”

In true form, Dylan can bench press 250 pounds, run a marathon, and climb precariously steep trails like a mountain goat, but somehow cannot manage enough self-control to let the top tier of his wedding cake defrost for his and Mateo’s first anniversary.

“Besides, Sana’s not here with the champagne yet,” I remind him.

“She couldn’t just grab something from the wine shop down the street?”

“Dylan. This is our ‘Jam-four-ee,’” I say, parroting the nickname that he gave this night himself, since we are celebrating four distinct occasions at once. “You think Sana wasn’t going to seize on the opportunity to get one of those gigantic, toddler-size champagne bottles at the liquor store?”

His eyes light up. “Is she really?”

“Yes. And you’re in charge of opening it. What else was all this lifting for, if not leading up to this specific task?”

---